AP: Ritter Not Opposed to Guantanamo Terror Detainees at Supermax in Florence

The Associated Press is reporting that Gov. Bill Ritter has indicated he would be supportive of Obama administration efforts to move detainees from the prison facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba to Colorado's Supermax federal prison.

President Obama issued an executive order Wednesday that will require the military detention complex in the Caribbean to close within one year.

The AP report quotes Evan Dreyer, Ritter's chief spokesperson, as saying

"If Supermax is chosen, there's no reason to take a 'not in my backyard' approach."

The report also quotes Dreyer as saying that Ritter has not discussed relocation of prisoners from the Cuba facility to Supermax.

The federal Supermax prison, which holds a maximum of 490 prisoners, was constructed near Florence in 1995.

Among its inmates are Zacarias Moussaoui, a participant in the Sept. 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on New York City and Washington, DC; Ramzi Yousef, who was convicted of crimes arising from the 1993 World Trade Center attack; and Richard Reid, who tried to blow up an airplane crossing the Atlantic Ocean with a shoe bomb.

Ritter Gives Obama Stimulus Suggestions

Gov. Bill Ritter has offered President-elect Barack Obama a list of suggestions for stimulus spending in Colorado next year, asking that the new administration in Washington, DC focus on transportation projects and energy infrastructure.

The governor included his ideas in a letter sent to Obama Dec. 9. Ritter specifically mentioned 112 highway projects costing $1.1 billion; 23 aviation projects costing $113 million; and 22 transit projects costing $144 million.

Ritter also asked Obama to push Congress to appropriate about $90 million to the U.S. Department of Energy's State Energy Program grants and to create a $10 billion energy retrofit program that would cover all types of structures. Ritter also suggested increases to the Energy Efficiency and Conservation block grant program, the federal fund that pays for weatherization projects and assistance to utilities to pay for transmission projects. He also recommended a variety of tax changes aimed at encouraging investment and research into renewable energy sources and facilities, including "clean coal" research.

"Colorado and the nation face significant economic challenges,” Ritter said. “But these challenges also create enormous opportunities. Colorado’s successes at building a New Energy Economy and creating new jobs can be a model for the nation. Through wise infrastructure investments, we can create jobs and hasten economic recovery in the short-term, and put the nation on a long-term path for growth that will allow us to compete and succeed on a global economic stage.”

Obama is expected to ask Congress for a large fiscal stimulus bill, possibly approaching as much as $ 1 trillion, shortly after his inauguration as President Jan. 20, 2009.

Governor's Office Releases Text of Ritter's DNC Remarks

The office of the governor has released text of Gov. Bill Ritter's address to the Democratic National Convention at Invesco Field today. The text follows:

"Thank you. My name is Bill Ritter, and I’m the Governor of the great state of Colorado.

"I am so proud of Colorado. We have hosted a great Convention, don’t you think? It has been an honor to host this 2008 Democratic National Convention.

"This evening, as we mark the Convention’s end, we re-affirm our Western spirit as the American spirit. And this year, the road to the White House cuts straight through the heart of the American West.

"Merle Haggard said it best: 'If God doesn’t live in Colorado, I’ll bet that’s where he spends most of his time.'

"Here in Colorado – like in all of America – we face incredible challenges. And we know why: the Washington of George Bush and John McCain is failing us, on energy, the economy, education, health care and Iraq.

"Have you had enough?

"Are you ready to end the Bush-McCain economic policy that’s weakening the middle class?

"Are you ready to turn the page on a failed Bush-McCain energy policy that opposes investments in renewable energy?

"Are you read to close the book on a Bush-McCain health-care policy that does nothing for the uninsured, nothing to reduce health-care costs, and nothing to help seniors with the costs of long-term care?

"Are you ready for the change we need?

"Are you ready for Barack Obama?

"Maybe it’s the Mile High altitude and all this thin air. Maybe it’s the pioneering spirit of the American West. Whatever it is, we Westerners look at the many challenges facing America and we see hope and opportunity and possibility.

"I call it the Colorado Promise: the chance for everyone to reach their full God-given potential.

"We see the opportunity to build a New Energy Economy based on natural gas, wind and solar power … to create thousands of new jobs.

"We see the opportunity to build an economy around industries of the future, like aerospace the biosciences and technology.

"We see the opportunity to reform our schools so that every child gets the skills they need to fill 21st Century jobs.

"What’s happening here in the West is just a preview of the powerful change Barack Obama will bring to all of America.

"The Western experience can be the American experience.

"In Montana, Wyoming, Colorado, New Mexico, Arizona, Kansas and Oklahoma, a new generation of Democratic governors has replaced Republican governors and we’re showing America how to solve big problems, how to work together with Republicans and Democrats alike.

"The wide open West isn’t just about wide open spaces. It’s about possibilities, and hope for the future. There’s a little bit of that Western spirit, of the Colorado Promise, in all of us. Really, it’s the American Promise, the vision of a country where 'what can be' becomes 'what is.'

"But that vision only becomes a reality when we have a true partner in the White House – a partner like Barack Obama, who will work with our states, not against them.

"For the last eight years, we have not had that partner. And we will not have that partner in John McCain.

"Only if we elect a bold new president named Barack Obama can we get America back on track and bring the change we need.

"Thank you, and God bless you."